Our Greatest Social Problem: Unwed Parenthood

Few would deny that we confront significant political problems. The current impasse between liberals and conservatives has become so extreme that almost everyone is aware something is radically wrong. What is amiss may be in dispute, but that something is seems clear.
In fact, so passionate have arguments about the proper role government become that they have sucked most of the oxygen out of the public arena. As a result, there is little energy left over to discuss anything other than ObamaCare, energy policy, or potential federal deficits.
This, however, does not mean that all is well on other fronts. To be more specific, we are mired is a “social” problem the dimensions of which are at least as terrifying as the likelihood of national bankruptcy. This issue is none other than the tsunami of unwed parenthood that has broken over our shores.
Almost unnoticed, the number of children born to unmarried couples has risen from less than one in twenty to about two out of every five births. That’s right, as of now nearly forty percent of all children are what used to be called “illegitimate.”
Many folks—mostly liberals—profess to being unconcerned by this development. They tell us that there are all sorts of ways to raise children; that no particular way—such as the traditional two-parent family—is better than any other. This is often described as “multiculturalism” and is hailed as evidence of our growing social tolerance.
Nevertheless, there is a problem. Indeed, we are being engulfed by a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. Never before have so many children been abandoned to an undeserved fate. Never before has a nation entrusted its future to a generation, this many of whom, have not been provided the protection of two devoted parents.
Before we go any further, let us get something straight. Being raised by a single parent, either because of an unwed birth or divorce, is typically a severe disadvantage. Despite the exceptions (and there are exceptions) more often than not the innocent victims come up on the short end of the social stick.
Let us review some of these burdens. Those who grow up in single parent households are more likely to:
· Have lower incomes
· Obtain lesser educations
· Have poorer health, including mental health
· Become involved in crime
· Be swept up in drug and alcohol abuse
· Participate in unstable relationships of their own
In other words, children born to unwed parents are apt to be less successful, including less happy, than those blessed with two loving parents who remain committed to each other and their offspring.
President Obama and his allies tell us that they have promoted health care reform in large part because they intend to redistribute social resources. They believe it is unfair that some people have fewer advantages than others and are determined to rectify this injustice.
But if “illegitimacy” has the effects outlined above, then merely shoveling money and/or services to the underclass will have few lasting benefits. In the end, the poor will still be poor and unhappy.
So why haven’t politicians been falling all over themselves to correct this inequity? The reason is deceptively simple. It is because they haven’t got a clue as to how to fix things. They just don’t have the programs to turn them around.
And the reason they don’t is that successful families depend on “responsible” behavior by the participants. Only prospective mothers and fathers can control themselves such that they remain dedicated to each other and their children.
Politicians may talk a lot about “personal responsibility,” but guess what—personal responsibility is personal. It is something that people have to do for themselves.
Melvyn L. Fein. Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University